The present invention relates generally to window repair fixtures and specifically to repair fixtures for use on vertically oriented glass panes that maintain a pressurized liquefied glass repair material in close contact with a damaged portion of the glass during the repair operation.
Generally, small repairs on glass can be made using a liquefied glass repair material, such as a polymer or resin, that is brought into and maintained in close contact with the damaged glass until the glass repair material is cured and relatively transparent or translucent such that the repair is not readily apparent. To maintain the glass repair material in close contact with the glass, the material is applied under pressure from a pump. To deliver the pressurized fluid material and ensure that it remains in the damaged portion of the glass, a variety of repair fixtures have been employed.
One prior glass repair fixture, sold as model FIX 2000 by Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc., Madison, Wis., includes a suction cup mount, a yoke and leg combination that rotates and pivots relative to the mount, and a chamber joined to a distal end of the leg to engage the glass, receive the glass repair material and maintain the glass repair material in place until it is sufficiently dried or xe2x80x9ccured.xe2x80x9d The suction cup mount is similar to those used to carrier large panes of glass or wind shields. It includes a rubber cup and a vacuum pump for evacuating air from under the cup to create a suction great enough to ensure a solid mount of the fixture on the glass to be repaired.
The mount need only be placed near a break in the glass. To accurately place the chamber over the damaged portion, the yoke and leg combination rotates around a screw in the mount. To lock the yoke, a top knob on the screw is rotated to provide a clamping pressure against the mount.
The prior art yoke is slotted for movement toward and away from the mount, and it has a forked distal end through which a laterally extending side screw extends. The side screw joins the leg to the yoke by extending through a slot in the leg so that the leg can be adjusted toward and away from both the yoke and the glass. A side knob locks the leg at a desired position by clamping the forked ends of the yoke on to both sides of the leg.
The leg is shaped to angle toward the glass and it terminates at a foot that is intended to be parallel to the glass during repairs. The foot is threaded to receive a chamber. The chamber then can be adjusted normal to the glass by rotating the entire chamber.
A disadvantage of this design is that repeated adjustments of the top and side knobs may be necessary to bring the foot parallel to the glass. Any deviation from parallel, and the chamber seal can fail allowing polymeric material to drain out. Further, with the chamber threaded directly to the leg, the chamber nipple is not always maintained upright to prevent drainage of the liquefied glass repair material particularly when the glass is vertical.
A partial solution was accomplished with the use of a chamber (part no. KIT 1040, Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc. Madison, Wis.) that was not threaded directly to the leg. Instead, the fixture uses a bolt threaded to a distal end of the leg and the chamber is freely rotatably mounted on an unthreaded end of the bolt. This arrangement permits the chamber to be rotated to keep the nipple upright and prevent drainage once the bolt has set the chamber at the proper position relative to the glass.
To eliminate the need for the leg foot to be adjusted precisely parallel to the glass being repaired, the chamber adjustment screw and leg are joined via an offset bushing that permits less precision in setting the leg foot (part no. FIX 2015, Aegis Windshield Repair, Division of Autoglass Specialists, Inc., Madison, Wis.). Even this arrangement is unsatisfactory because the offset bushing does not provide the degree of accuracy necessary to ensure proper chamber placement and reliable seal against the glass. Further, the leg and offset bushing are expensive to make.
Thomas et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,506, discloses a suction cup mounted fixture with a single leg for mounting an injector. Three feet extend downwardly from the fixture toward the glass, extending past the suction cup, so that the cup is spaced from the glass. Turning a lever lowers the cup for engagement to the glass. The feet allow the fixture to be slid along the length of a crack in the windshield without raising the injector from the glass, but the fixture would be impractical for use on vertical glass because its chamber is not configured to rotate to prevent fluid polymer from draining.
Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,814,185, discloses a suction cup mounted fixture having an injector secured to one end of a rigid base and two adjustment screws secured to the other end of the base. This is a cumbersome arrangement that requires turning the rear adjustment screws to pivot the base around the cup to press the injector against the glass.
Newsome, U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,649, discloses a bar type repair fixture having a resin injection chamber on one end, and a positioning screw on the other end, with a suction cup between. No rotatable chamber is disclosed for preventing drainage from the chamber.
There is a need for a simple, reliable, and inexpensive fixture to repair glass, such as laminated glass and, in particular, vertically oriented laminated glass.
To simplify glass repair procedures and reduce the time necessary to set up glass repair fixture prior to repairing glass, there is provided in accordance with the present invention a glass repair fixture having: a mount; a leg having a proximate portion rotatably joined to the mount, and a distal portion; a chamber adjustment mechanism joined to the distal portion of the leg for movement in a direction normal to a glass surface on which the fixture is mounted; and a chamber rotatably mounted on the chamber adjustment mechanism and having a port for receiving glass repair material.
The glass repair fixture mount may include a suction cup and a hand vacuum/pressure pump. The glass repair fixture leg proximate portion may define a slot enabling leg movement toward and away from the mount. The leg may further have a proximate portion fixed relative to the leg distal portion.
The glass repair fixture chamber adjustment mechanism may be a screw or other device that moves the chamber in a direction normal to the surface of the glass. When the chamber adjustment is a screw, the screw can be threaded directly to the distal portion of the leg for fine adjustment and secure sealing of the chamber relative to the glass. Further, such a screw may have an unthreaded tip portion for rotatably engaging the chamber to enable the chamber to be rotated relative to the screw even after the screw has been set so that the port or a nipple for receiving repair material will not drain the chamber when filled with glass repair material.
The invention includes a method of repairing glass including the steps of securing a mount of a repair fixture to a sheet of damaged glass in the vicinity of a damaged area; adjusting a distal portion of a repair fixture leg in a direction normal to the damaged area; releasably securing the distal portion of the repair fixture leg over the damaged area; rotating an adjustment screw through the distal portion of the repair fixture to contact a chamber and chamber gasket over the damaged area; and rotating the chamber relative to the adjustment screw to orient a chamber nipple to prevent drainage of glass repair material from the chamber. The method can further include the step of moving the distal portion of the leg in a direction radial to the mount prior to releasably securing the distal portion of the leg over the damaged area.